NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- German athletic brand Adidas is "revising" its ad campaign for the Originals SL72 running shoes -- which are a nod to the 1972 Olympics in Munich, during which 11 Israelis were murdered in a terror attack by Palestinian group Black September -- featuring model Bella Hadid, after the ad caused an uproar online, due to her past anti-Israel and anti-Jewish remarks, Adidas told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880 Thursday.
"The adidas Originals SL72 campaign unites a broad range of partners to celebrate our lightweight running shoe, designed more than 50 years ago and worn in sport and culture around the world," Adidas spokesman Stefan Pursche, who is based in Germany, told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880.
Acknowledging the optics of having the 27-year-old, half-Palestinian outspoken Israeli critic being the face of a product that has ties to an event at which Israelis were killed by a Palestinian terror group, Pursche said, "We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events - though these are completely unintentional - and we apologize for any upset or distress caused."
Pursche assured, "As a result we are revising the remainder of the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force around the world and will continue our efforts to champion diversity and equality in everything we do."
The State of Israel's X feed took aim at Adidas Thursday morning, writing, "@adidas recently launched a new campaign for their shoes to highlight the 1972 Munich Olympics. Eleven Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Olympics. Guess who the face of their campaign is? Bella Hadid, a half-Palestinian model who has a history of spreading antisemitism and calling for violence against Israelis and Jews. She and her father [real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, 75] frequently promote blood libels and antisemitic conspiracies against Jews."
Several Instagram users expressed their disgust with the campaign, commenting on the above post, "No more adidas! Byeee," "Is this a prank...," "1972 olympics were an absolutely devastation and a tragedy… but go off! We see where you stand 🤝 anti-Semites," and "We should have realized what your brand stands for when you were okay working with Kanye #boycottadidas"
StopAntisemitism, a group which has been monitoring antisemitism since Oct. 7, posted on X, "Antisemite Bella Hadid was chosen by Adidas as the face for the 1972 Olympic shoe relaunch. The same Olympics in which Jews were butchered by Palestinian terrorists. If the shoes fits @adidas - how on par."
Hadid, the sister of Gigi Hadid, has claimed Israel is an "apartheid Jewish supremacist” state and claimed "Jesus was Palestinian."
This isn't the first time Adidas has come under fire for hiring public figures considered anti-Jewish: it eventually ended its relationship with Kanye West after he made a slew of anti-Jewish remarks and praised the Nazis.
Adidas was founded in 1924 in Germany by brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, both of whom were Nazi party members.